The invention relates to a method of making metal matrix composite monotape ribbon and more particularly to a method of using metal matrix composite monotape ribbons for making irregular shaped composite components.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,518,625 describes a process for utilizing metal arc spraying to spray liquid metal onto an array of high strength fibers that have been previously wound onto a large drum contained inside a controlled atmosphere chamber. The chamber is first evacuated to remove gaseous contaminants and then back filled with a neutral gas up to atmospheric pressure. This process is used to produce large size metal matrix composite monotape. When making composite components from conventional monotape, it is difficult to circumferentially apply the monotape to an irregularly shaped mandrel, particularly when the component diameter changes significantly along its axis of rotation producing surfaces with widely varying slopes. This difficulty must be circumvented to produce high quality irregular shaped composite components.